Seraph (He ZhenZhen) was released in 2018 by McFarlane in their first wave of Call of Duty action figures. The figure is based of Seraph's appearance from Call of Duty Black Ops. She was even packed with downloadable content for the same game. Other figures released at launch include Simon "Ghost" Riley, Ruin and John "Soap" MacTavish.
Packaging 2/5
Seraph is packed in blister card packaging with the Call of Duty Logo inserted into the figure blister at the bottom. The character name, and a head image, are positioned on the right of the blister and above them an insert explaining about the inclusion of the game downloadable content.
The card back carries no background info or text for the character. Instead there is a line up of the other figures from launch - Ruin, Simon "Ghost" Riley and John "Soap" MacTavish. Oddly, the decision has been taken to put these images on a landscape orientation rather than portrait in line with the blister layout.
The rather clumsy placed piece behind the figure in the blister is the downloadable content and its a shame that the positioning of it detracts a little from the figure and the figure backing image which is a very faint map design and a large icon behind the figure that confirms the version of Call of Duty from which the figure is taken - in this case Black Ops.
Being a blister card, the only way to remove the figure is to rip the card. Once opened the figure - and the downloadable content - slip out, with the figure strapped into an inner plastic tray.
Paint & Sculpt 3/5
The head sculpt is not a bad representation for the ingame Seraph, it certainly does a good job of her hair style and the shaved tramlines down one side. There is no face print technology in play here, and this is noticeable with very plain and cartoonish eyes and eye brows. The mask is sculpted over her nose and mouth with odd white lines, which are actually meant to be a grey colour as is the side of the mouth, with only the mouth piece a blue tone in game?
The outfit is very detailed with a blue and green undersuit with gold piping, over which we have straps and pouches. Everything is painted well and looks great, it is just a pity that items such as the knife in her boot holster are fixed and not actually accessories.
I was very surprised by the scale of these Call of Duty figures. I had wrongly assumed they were 7 inch scale like other McFarlane figures, and those from NECA. It's actually aligned more to Marvel Legends - and therefore they can work well as background characters.
Accessories 2/5
Seraph, disappointingly, comes with one solitary weapon - her Annihilator Revolver. Considering the volumes of weapons in the game I would have liked to have seen more.
The Annihilator itself is cast in a hard plastic which means it has a tonne of detail in such as small piece including a stamp in the handle and detailing around the barrel. It is cast in dark grey with a light grey paint app on the handle.
Seraph's hands are thankfully quite malleable, and it is relatively easy to get the gun into a grip using the right hand. It will fit in the left hand too - although the trigger finger on the left is not a good fit. When not in use Seraph has a holster on her right hip into which the gun slot. The fit is not tight, but it is secure thanks to the shape of the holster. Be careful how you get it out as you can damage the gun - if you want to remove it you tilt it back first and then pull it out.
The figures also come with a circular figure stand. This is black glossy plastic with the Call of Duty log at the front. The stand has a single peg that corresponds with the right foot of Seraph. The fit is tight and the stand works well - although she has enough strength in the ankle rockers to stand fine on her own.
Articulation 2/5
Ruin has just 14 points of articulation, this is 2 less than the male figures released at the same time and less than average for a figure of this scale. Elbows and knees are single jointed and the hips are the older style two way T-joint.
Head : ball joint
Body : waist swivel
Arms : ball joint shoulder, single joint elbow, wrist ball joint
Legs : T-joint hip, single joint rotating knee, ankle rocker
The head is quite mobile, it can rotate fully and the ball joint allows Seraph to look down quite a way so her chin is on her neck piece. The arms are also very mobile, even without the double joint elbows. And of course with only a handgun to pose you do not notice any limitations with holding say a larger two handed weapon.
The legs are restricted by the waist sculpting, and those pouches. This means Seraph cannot sit or kneel. Instead you will be held to wider action stances only.
All n all articulation is disappointing for a character with obvious martial arts training in the game. While McFarlane are not yet in the same ballpark as Hasbro for figure articulation, the fact Seraph is even short changed on joints and movement that the male figures from the same line get is a real shame.
Summary
Seraph is another good looking McFarlane figure, let down by the articulation and accessories. She has a wealth of detailing in her costume, but then the head is painted so simply it almost doesn't match?
I score the Call of Duty Black Ops Seraph a below average 2 out of 5.
About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
action figures, reviews, review, articulation, McFarlane, Call of Duty, Black Ops, Seraph, He Zhen-Zhen
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